Continuing the weekend of blender atonement, I tried to make potage parmentier. The last time I tried, Jeff broke the blender. This time, I made it with watercress as well, so it was technically potage cresson. Also, I nearly broke the blender, too. Don't fill your blender all the way to the top with hot soup! Don't! But it was also delicious.

After that we had Madeleine Kamman's duck thighs roasted with mustard- only with duck breasts. Note for the future: Duck breasts are more expensive than duck thighs. They also take a little less time to cook. Still, they are tasty. I wished I hadn't filled up so much on potage cresson.

On the random baking thread, I'm making Nancy Silverton's bread starter from Cooking with Master Chefs. It's a 9 day project! Today was day 2. I stirred it this morning- it had separated out into some sort of clear liquid and then the doughy looking part. I get to stir it every day. It's fun.

I'm also doing Thanksgiving. I've been doing a LOT of turkey research, in all my cookbooks and at turkeyhelp.com. But what I want is a turkey like my mom makes, and I know she doesn't brine. I asked her how she cooks her turkey and she said: "I roast it."
Um, okay. She elaborated that she cooked it just like her mother did. Clearly, I should have been more alert and helpful in the kitchen all these years, and now I am being punished. However, my grandmother's already given up her chocolate chocolate chip cake recipe (Bell's Best being a cookbook that's a bit hard to track down outside of Mississippi), so I think I can get her to crack on the turkey issue. And maybe gravy, too. She and my mom make this gravy with hardboiled egg in it that's fabulous.

And finally, in the world of snack foods. T turned me on to soy crisps, which are super low calorie, taste good, and have soy. They may be the Pirate's Booty of 2003, but for now, I love them. EVEN BETTER, though, are TJ's wasabi peas. They're a snack product, but also a vegetable! And they're spicy enough that you run no risk of consuming a whole bag in one sitting. They are the perfect snack food- and even lower in calories than soy crisps.